Seige Threatens Mowhawk Community of Kanehsatake

Chiefs John Harding, Pearl Bonspille and Steven Bonspille
Continue to Seek a Peaceful Solution to the Policing Crisis
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The following are excerpts from a press release issued from Kanehsatake. All indications are that the Government and outside "police" forces are attempting to force violence on the community and the situation is becoming increasingly tense, volatile and dangerous at this time.

KANEHSATA:KE MOHAWK TERRITORY, April 28 /CNW Telbec/

As of early Wednesday morning, the Mohawk Community of Kanehsata:ke is under siege by a band of heavily armed men, led by Ed Thompson, and supported by the Sûreté du Québec.

The latest report of confrontational actions taken on the part of Ed Thompson and his armed force involve an attempted entry of Kanehsata:ke from the English Point side of the Territory. Approximately forty of Ed Thompson's squad, dressed in full riot gear, attempted to force their way into the community down Highway 344 and were turned back by community members. The actions of Ed Thompson are becoming increasingly aggressive and dangerous for all parties involved.

Ed Thompson has endangered the children of Kanehsata:ke. There was no forewarning concerning the current operations on the part of Mr. Thompson, who has stated that he is acting in the best interests of the community. The community itself had to act to close the schools after the operation had already begun, so that our children would be safe from the invading force.

Today, a meeting was scheduled between James Gabriel and a mediator when, lo and behold, this policing action was taken. The current incidents are simply the next step in the court-appointed chief's policy of avoiding any offer of a peaceful solution to the crisis, although mediation plans have been offered by the community four times. Rather than accept a peaceful mediation of the policing issue, the court-appointed chief continues to insist that no mediation will take place until after he has imposed his form of "law and order" on the community.

The Mohawk Council of Kanehsata:ke continues to insist on a peaceful, mediated solution to the current policing crisis and will resist all efforts by Ed Thompson to force a violent incident which, besides threatening an innocent community, will irreparably damage the reputations of both the Sûreté du Québec and the Ministry of Public Security. Time and again, the Mohawk Community has offered peaceful avenues for mediation and been rebuffed by court-appointed chief James Gabriel, who enjoys the unquestioned support of the Governments of Canada and Québec.

OCAP Solidarity Statment
(April 2004)

GOVERNING OURSELVES ACCORDINGLY: SOLIDARITY WITH THE MOHAWK NATION

On January 22, 2004, OCAP had planned to hold a press conference involving the distribution of native-made cigarettes purchased direct from convenience stores in Kanehsatake, Mohawk Territory. While the event unfortunately cancelled until a later date due to a bad snowstorm, the importance of the message intended to be relayed on that day, like the threat posed to the Mohawk Nation, its respective communities, and the families that reside on them, has not abated in the least. Since the widely publicized January 12th confrontation at Kanehsatake, the Canadian government and media have made every effort to portray the events as a dispute between law-abiding Mohawks and supposed criminal factions within the community who have connections to organized crime.

At the heart of this issue is not drugs, organized crime, Hells Angels affiliations, or contraband cigarettes. Rather, it is an attempt by the government to curb the sale of cigarettes, made by First Nations people and industries and sold throughout First Nations communities in every province. The Mohawk family-operated convenience stores and other native distributors of these cigarettes agree collectively not to levy taxes on their product. This is an inherent right of inter-tribal trade with sister Mohawk communities and the native-run tobacco industry.

Further, the Feds' concern with Native-made smokes and sales goes much deeper than their own pocket book. It is not simply the lost tax revenue that they suffer, but the fact that the lost dollars go to sustain Mohawk families and other services and allows for the Mohawk Nation to stand, as it always has, as the clearest and most organized force of resistance against the Canadian government.s practices of assimilation and control of Frist Nations peoples.

While Kanehsatake offers the most publicized example of community members defending against outside invasion and interference, its actions are in no way unique among Mohawk communities. Time after time they have demonstrated an unfaltering will to defend their borders against any of the myriad police (O.P.P, Surete Quebec, RCMP & New York State Troopers) and military forces (Canadian & U.S.) that are forever trying to claim authority on Mohawk lands. And time after time they are successful.

In expresing solidarity, we must not content ourselves with actions designed according to the interests or wishes of the solidarity organization, or expressions which simply accommodate our strategy and tactics. OCAP believes that .Aboriginal solidarity. cannot mean limiting oneself to sitting on the sidelines, raising awareness, or holding public forums. While this may not be our fight to lead, as an organization based in Canada.s largest city, this is unreservedly our fight to participate in. We recognize that regardless of one.s particular angle or issues, a rejection of this government and all it stands for inextricably links us with struggles for indigenous sovereignty.

Solidarity cannot happen from a safe distance. Its very definition implies that one is to share in the burden of the struggle of others. OCAP seeks to ensure that its acts of solidarity are directly informed by the tone and degree of militancy of the original struggles. And we will seek, wherever possible, to find the means to directly and tangibly assist those struggles. If at this time that means buying cigarettes, helping to expand and diversify the markets for native brands, and supporting an Onkwehonwe tobacco industry, that is what we will do. We recognize however, that the pattern of planned, abandoned, and failed military and police assaults on Mohawk lands in the last 10 years indicates something far more serious. We interpret the present silence, not as a conclusion to the issue, but as time won by Kanehsatake and other communities. through their demonstrated willingness to stand against all the Government could throw at them. In this instance, time is a luxury for organizations like OCAP to educate ourselves and organize - like on the reserves - the capability to respond swiftly and decisively to any renewed threat, and to ask ourselves, as organizations and individuals, what kind of commitment they will make when the inevitable fight unfolds.

On January 17, 2004, while the events were unfolding at Kanehsatake, Jake Brant of Tyendinaga, had this to offer on the question of solidarity:

"The issue of solidarity and understanding is always difficult, despite [past] lessons. If good Canadian people are tricked once again by their government, then people in Kanehsatake and elsewhere will be subjected to further despair, intrusion and violence. That being said, we can all rest assured that some report, sometime in the future, will reveal once again how the government lied to its people and justified its assault on the Mohawk Nation. Perhaps in a few years we can have some speakers come out to a workshop who will speak first hand to the bullshit and injustices that are being faced today by the people of Kanehsatake, but however it may be billed at the time, 'Aboriginal solidarity' and Mohawk sovereignty will be determined over the next few days and weeks. This issue has not concluded. Let us govern ourselves accordingly."

His words remain just as true today.